Partner: Reach Out Ministries (ROM)
Location: Juba, South Sudan
A new technology center in the capital city of Juba will train young people in computer and life skills as they seek employment according to their God-given purpose.
South Sudan’s civil war has been one of the largest humanitarian crises in the past decade, causing an estimated 400,000 lives lost, displacing more than four million people, and leaving 7.5 million people in need of urgent assistance. Born out of war and transitioning immediately into a civil war between battling tribes in the new government, South Sudan has an extreme poverty rate of 82%, according to the most recent estimates. The economy is in ruins with a lack of job opportunities causing a deep depression that has turned many young people to drugs and alcohol.
THE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTION
Since the South Sudanese civil war began nearly a decade ago, the war-torn country has been on the verge of economic collapse with millions of people facing hunger and poverty. Lack of hope due to this devastation has led to unhealthy and destructive cycles. Many turn to drugs and alcohol as a way to cope with their everyday struggles.
After prayerful consideration of how to address these challenges, Mission ONE partner, Reach Out Ministries (ROM), will operate a technology center that will train young people in computer skills and walk with them as they seek productive means of employment to make a living.
OUR PLAN
The building, which was constructed in 2021, has two floors, each large enough to hold 50 people. The bottom floor will be used to train students in coding skills, English, and biblical studies. The second floor will serve as a coworking space where graduates can work with mentors to find online freelance jobs while paying a small rental fee to access the coworking space’s equipment. This allows an environment of collaboration and support to be cultivated amongst coworkers.
As students graduate from the one-year training program, they will have two options: attempt to find work in the government with the help of mentors, or move upstairs to the coworking space.
DESIRED IMPACT
This technology center will give the youth in South Sudan a renewed hope. It will give them a vision for a bright, new future by training them in practical skills to find well-paying, dignified work and lift themselves and their families out of poverty. They will be encouraged in their identities as image-bearers of God and become sources of hope for their families and communities.
MEASURABLE GOALS
01.
In the first year, 30 students will finish the technology center’s one-year training program.
02.
75% of students will find jobs within three months of graduation.
03.
75% of those who receive jobs will keep them for at least 18 months.
OUR IMPACT
- The building is fully constructed and partially furnished.
- Computer equipment and cables for the internet have been purchased.
- A curriculum has been selected to use from a similar project in Iraq.
- “Tech Hub” is now registered as a corporation owned by ROM.
- A security guard has been hired for the property.
- Advertisements have been sent out to help recruit students.